Born to Die
by CopperMax
Summary: Taylor Finnegan was just a kid playing at being a soldier when the dead started walking. It turns out boot camp is a hell of an apocalypse training program and he's got nothing left to lose. Beth was just trying to figure out a reason to keep living. When everything else seems to be falling apart, some things fall into place- like his crooked smiles and her beating heart.
1. Chapter 1

The Walking Dead

Beth X OC slow burn

* * *

_When someone said count your blessings now_  
_For they're long gone_  
_I guess I just didn't know how_  
_I was all wrong_

_They knew better_  
_Still you said forever_  
_And ever_  
_Who knew_

_\- P!NK, Who Knew_

* * *

Jimmy was mending the broken fence out by the barn when the man came running, a young boy held tightly to his chest, limp. He was screaming, calling for help for his son. Hershel let him in the house.

He followed the man inside where Hershel motioned for the man to set the bleeding unconscious boy on the guest bed. The father wasn't alone however, behind him ran another man, this one with thick dark curly black hair and dark eyes, and Otis.

Otis, visibly upset, turned to his wife. "I didn't see him," the big man cried, setting down his shotgun. "I didn't see him." Patricia was stunned, eyes stuck on the newcomers as she held her husband.

Hershel ushered Jimmy out of the way, pushing his youngest daughter Beth along with him. She looked up at his large upset eyes and Jimmy reached for her hand, holding it tight.

The man's name was Rick. His son, Carl, had been shot in a hunting accident in the woods by the farm. The bullet hit the small boy in the side. It was going to kill him if Hershel couldn't get the bullet fragments out of him. Rick was a mess, frantically going back and forth between worrying for his child and lamenting the fact his wife, Carl's mother, did not know what had happened.

So Rick gave his blood to his child. Two transfusions occurred in the time it took Maggie set out on a horse with a bat and bring back the tiny woman with the long brown hair, Lori- the boy's mother. The woman cried and hugged Rick; shook her head and slapped his chest. "How could you let this happen?" She cried and asked Hershel if he had medical experience.

She was angry, called Otis an idiot. And shook her head, hands on her hips. Rick beside her. "Okay," she tried to calm herself, "as soon as they get back you can perform this surgery?"

"I'll certainly do my best," Hershel nodded.

"Okay I mean, you've done this procedure before?" she nodded as if to reassure herself.

"Well, yes, in a sense."

"In a sense?" she reacted, voice rising in pitch.

"Honey, we don't have the luxury of shopping for a surgeon," Rick voiced softly, desperation clouding his bright blue eyes.

"No, I understand that," she nodded frantically, "But, I mean, you're a doctor, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. A vet."

"A veteran," she seemed to sigh with relief, "A combat medic?"

"A veterinarian," he seemed reluctant to correct her.

"And you've done this surgery before on what? Cows pigs?" Lori's eyes widened, one hand rising to her heart and then her head. "I- I have- I have to sit." Then, eyes watery and voice near scathing, she asked, "Completely in over your head, aren't you?"

"Ma'am," Hershel responded, "aren't we all?"

Beth watched helplessly from the sidelines. Jimmy rubbed her shoulder in encouragement, pressing a kiss to her cheek. The screams permeated the whole house. And then it was silent. He'd passed out from the pain. And that had only been one bullet fragment.

Beth cried too.

* * *

So Shane set out to get the medical supplies, a respirator to keep the boy breathing while Hershel extracted the fragments and fixed his bleeding artery. A medical station had been set up at the high school when this began. It had since been overrun but the supplies would still be there. Otis went with him. It was a suicide mission. The high school was overrun with the sick people. How could they possibly get in and out again?

It was a bit after they left when the others arrived. The Asian boy and the black man whose blood poisoning would have killed him were it not for the antibiotics they'd had. Glenn and T-Dog were their names, not that Jimmy remembered. They said it wasn't just Carl who was in danger, but a little girl. A little girl was lost in the woods and they were looking for her. That's when Carl had been shot.

Shane came back that night with the respirator and a limp. Otis didn't come back at all.

They did the surgery, saved the boy, and told Patricia after. Her cries were loud and heartbroken. She'd spent her whole life with her husband, and now he was gone. Hershel's daughters, Maggie and Beth clung to each other as they cried, rocking back and forth on Beth's bed. Comfort was best left to the two sisters. Jimmy was minimal help at best when it came to Beth's feelings. She knew he cared about her, but their relationship had become way too serious way too fast when the people got sick and Jimmy came to stay with them.

She had only been dating the boy for a few weeks. Now it seemed they were on their way to marriage. She didn't want that. She wasn't even sure how serious she was about Jimmy. She wasn't sure how she felt about a lot of things these days.

The rest of Rick's group came to meet up sometime later in a large white RV and on a black motorcycle. Out of the RV stepped a blonde woman with a severe look on her face and hollow looking blue eyes, Andrea. Behind her came a rather distraught woman with gray hair cropped close to her skull -the girl lost in the woods was her daughter- and an older man with white hair and a bizarre Hawaiian shirt. Carol and Dale.

Lastly, and unexpectedly, a boy stopped out. Beth had to do a double-take- at first, she'd thought him a full-grown man. He was tall, taller than Rick, and strong looking but not large. Broad shoulders and a narrow waist he looked all grown up, older than her certainly… until you saw his face. He had a strong jaw and a straight nose, but there was a fullness to his cheeks and a youthful glow to his tanned skin. His hair was brown, tousled in that way that a model's was but more than a bit greasier. It was shaved close on the sides by his ears along the curves of his head. His zip-up hoodie was loose -the sleeves pushed up to his elbows- and his jeans snug.

There was no denying he was _hot_.


	2. Chapter 2

The Walking Dead

Beth X OC slow burn

* * *

_In the middle of the night, in my dreams_

_You should see the things we do, baby_  
_In the middle of the night, in my dreams_  
_I know I'm gonna be with you_  
_So I take my time_  
_Are you ready for it?_

_\- Taylor Swift, Are You Ready For It?_

* * *

"Finn," the from looking redneck with the large arms and the scary blue eyes barked.

The boy turned, thick brows lifting. He caught the large duffle the redneck thrust at him with a small "_oof"._ He said something back that had the redneck scoffing, the frown lifting from his face. She was staring, she realized. She blushed darkly when he turned around, his eyes stopping briefly on her, his head cocking slightly to the side when she all but ran from him.

When she went back to the house after completing her chores, he was there. He was standing next to Maggie. Her older sister was leaning against the kitchen counter, looking up at 'Finn' with an amused expression.

"You shouldn't go alone. You don't know what's at that pharmacy and well, you- I…" He cleared his throat awkwardly when Maggie flashed him a toothy smile. "Well- You should take Glenn, the Korean guy in the red hat. He and I used to go on runs to Atlanta at our old camp," he fumbled. He reached a hand up to scratch the back of his neck. Beth didn't know what about that movement was so special, but it definitely did _something_ to her.

Then she was cursing herself. She had Jimmy. Jimmy was a good boy, a country boy. He was sweet and soft and caring and good. She _knew_ him.

Who the hell was this guy to come walking in here and stealing her attention like this?

"Either of us could go with ya. Or both, if you really want," he shrugged. "I dunno. You said it's no far so… less is usually more so long as you're quick," he said, eyes suddenly seeming further away. "Jus' be careful."

"Beth," Maggie saw her, interrupting her own conversation with Finn.

His eyes followed Maggie's and she felt rooted to the spot. His eyes were brighter than she'd expected, more lively and young. A swirling mess of deep green and brown.

"Hi," he said, voice a bit on the deep side but smooth and soft. "Finnegan," he introduced himself. _Finnegan? _She thought in confusion. _What kind of a name was that?_

"The other guy called you Finn," she said without thinking, shaking his outstretched hand. It was larger than hers, the skin dry but not rough.

"'s my nickname," he shrugged. "My last name's Finnegan. Taylor Finnegan." He wrinkled nose when he continued, "Just don't- No one calls me Taylor," He shook his head with a small embarrassed lopsided kind of smile.

_Jesus, he was cute, _she thought.

"I'm Beth," she said. She could feel herself blushing. Maggie apparently thought it was funny by the way she was smirking. Beth shot a glare at her sister when his attention was drawn elsewhere.

"Finnegan," Shane all but grunted, standing solidly in the doorway. "C'mere."

Suddenly, Taylor was standing straight up, feet shoulder-width apart. He brushed his forearm with his hand and nodded sharply. "Yessir," was his automatic response. He blushed lightly then and fidgeting a little he said, "uh, sure."

Shane only nodded at him and walked away. He'd been quiet and angry since his run to the hospital since Otis had died. Finn wondered if he was alright.

"He's cute," Maggie grinned knowingly, watching the boy walk away. With his floppy brown hair and those dark eyes, he must have known he was attractive. Beth was staring after him. Her smile wasn't as large as usual, but she was making a fair effort at faking happy.

The blonde sister shook her head and sputtered, "No! I mean… I guess…"

Maggie just laughed. Then she tilted her head slightly, eyebrows drawing together, "What's up with you anyway? You're actin' strange."

"No, I'm not."

"...is it about Otis?"

Beth shook her head. The loss of their neighbor, an uncle really, had hurt but she's gotten used to loss after her mother and brother had gotten sick. His funeral the night before helped.

* * *

_Patricia had cried. Shane, now with a shaved head, stood alone wearing too-big clothes that had once been Otis's. The rest of Rick's group huddled awkwardly together on one side of the dug grave. Finn was a little off to the side, a couple feet away from the redneck, Daryl Dixon. No one said a word, just cried softly and sniffed._

_Hershel prayed. "Blessed be God, father of our lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in Grace."_

_Patricia cried some more. Through her tears, she asked, begged Shane to share with them Otis's last moments. "I need to know he died with honor."_

_Shane told the story of his death, how they had been cornered, overrun, about to die. He said Otis told him to "save the boy" and heroically stayed behind to give Shane cover and provide a distraction. "If any death ever had meaning," he said, head bowed. "It was Otis's."_

_And they all cried as they covered his body with dirt._

_Later, Beth noticed Finn lying a small bundle of wildflowers atop the makeshift grave. She noticed Patricia cry and hug him. Watched the woman pat the tall boy's cheek._

"_I'm sorry for your loss," he said to her before taking his leave._

* * *

But that was earlier. Now was better. She was alive. Today, Maggie was alive. Today they were safe. Today, she thought, Otis's death wasn't the cause of her distress. "No, I just…" she trailed off.

"Yeah?" Maggie prodded.

"I mean Jimmy…"

"I thought you liked having him on the farm," Maggie asked.

"I did!" Beth sputtered, her blue eyes wide. "I do!"

"But…"

"I don't know Maggie," Beth sighed leaning against the counter. "I'd only been dating him for a few weeks before this…"

Maggie nodded, "That makes sense. It wasn't really serious and now you're living together, basically."

"He- he said he loved me," Beth winced. She hadn't said it back.

Maggie's eyes widened, "Ohmygod."

"I- I don't know… I _care_ about him…" Beth trailed off.

"It's okay if you don't know yet," Maggie hugged her sister. "You're both young." Beth rolled her eyes. Maggie was only five years older than her. "Jimmy's a good kid… but if he's not what you want…" Maggie tried to say.

It didn't take a genius to figure out Maggie was dishing out the machete-wielding boy from the other group for her little sister. "Just cause you like the 'bad boy' type doesn't mean I-" Beth bristled, squaring her small shoulders indignantly.

"Hey!" Maggie interjected with a grin, pointing a finger at her sister. "I grew out of that, thank you very much."

Beth sighed. "I should go to help Patricia with the garden."

Maggie rolled her eyes but smiled at her younger sister. Ah, boy troubles… looking through the window at the newcomers she saw the young Korean man Finn had mentioned earlier. He was sitting on top of the RV, binoculars around his neck and a baseball cap on his head, sporadic pieces of black hair sticking out from underneath. _He was cute_, she decided.

And she _did_ need someone to come with her on that run into town.


End file.
